Armed with grenade launchers, silenced pistols, and a machine gun, a group of right-wing "sovereign citizens" led by Alaskan militant Francis Schaeffer Cox and his followers--some from Washington state--allegedly tried to take revenge on the federal agents who hounded them.

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The tale of paranoia, conspiracy, and revenge is spelled out in indictments filed in federal court in Anchorage, and also in this well-reported piece by the P-I's crime ace Levi Pulkkinen.

Cox, the charismatic, self-described leader of the groups Alaska Peacemaker Militia and the Alaska Assembly Post, had quite the following among the right-wing militia crowd by the time the charges surfaced. A former candidate for the state's House of Representatives, Cox had ties to groups like the "Fairbanks Second Amendment Task Force," and he traveled the country (or at least several states) giving rah-rah speeches about overthrowing the government.

He is accused of trying to have a federal judge, an IRS agent, and a Alaska State Trooper killed, and of conspiring with several others to amass weapons and hatch a plan to do so.

According to court documents, Cox's alleged plans become known when an undercover agent penetrated his ranks and was told by Cox to go gather grenades for an impending attack on the judge, trooper, and tax man. That attack supposedly was part of a "2-4-1" plan, which would have left two federal employees dead for every militia member arrested.

The Washington state connection involves two people from Yelm, one from Mount Vernon, and another from Redmond who took part in something of an ad hoc "jury," holding a trial for Cox and acquitting him of all charges.

Raymond Jarlik Bell and his wife Ute Christine Jarlik Bell of Yelm are also charged with tax evasion for using one of the oldest tricks in the "sovereign citizen" handbook--a complex scheme that seeks to get money from the federal government through supposed "straw man" accounts.

Raymond is said to have been in frequent contact with Cox. Cox's trial is expected to begin next year.